Benchtop WEDM Overview
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2023
- Just wanted to put up a video going over all the parts of my wire EDM (WEDM) setup, as well as changes made to the Rack Robotics Powercore EDM PSU.
I will be posting SW updates and some design files to github so be sure to follow this repository if you are interested in updates: github.com/TheDigital1/powerc...
For more details on the Rack Robotics Powercore V1 check out www.rackrobo.io/
I feel this needs an entire series explaining every aspect in detail.
I am glad you liked my short series so much that you want more! However my goal was alway just to show what you could do with desktop wire EDM, and that it didn't need to be expensive or complicated. Lately I have not had time to work any more on this project, and honestly I don't feel like I need to as Rack Robotics has been doing such a great job with their developments. If you haven't already go check out there latest: rackrobo.io/
I can see this soon becoming popular and widespread like 3D printers because of your videos… Great work man, excited to see where it goes from here
great work on getting all this operational. and very clear presentation.
Also, cutting 1/4" aluminum at that rate on a home desktop minimill frame is a great demontration of what desktop EDM makes possible!
you can make real high reliability, fully functional metal parts out of bulk materials in reasonable times!
Super exciting!
Awesome! There are so many great ideas packed into this machine! Cannot wait to see where things go from here.
You make this look achievable at home! Truly excellent work
Awesome stuff! Just got my Powercore today. Planning to do a similar setup as I get more familiar with the process. Looking forward to the updates!
Amazing work mate, well done
This is an awesome proof of concept for the next tool that makers can use in their homes and garages. Wire EDM at home, crazy and amazing! I look forward to when these sit side-by-side with 3D printers.
Many machinists would be glad for a machine that size for cutting keyways, gear cutters, that sort of thing.
I've been following this for a while, you really got me wanting to make one :D
This is an excellent build. I’m very impressed well done! My solid sink EDM machines don’t require a pc or any code but I can see how it is the future for a home build EDM so it’s something I’m going to learn in my old age.
So impressive. 10 mm/min, this thing rips!! Well done!
connector molds and gears for everyone 🤩 that speed is fast i thought edm was slow, nice work very nice
Excellent work!
Can’t wait for this. I have the stock rack robo. I’m going to purchase a second powercore for this as well!
Hopefully you can put out a pdf for us so we can build it!
very cool, I built a powersource some time ago but never got around to building the cutting part. Your setup looks much more compact than some of the others I've seen. I might pick this up again.
Awesome! Yes this is primarily what I wanted to show. That the wire mechanism need not be complicated or expensive.
Wow! Amazing! I would love to build my own!
Thanks for sharing! That’s what I want next to build Just a little bit compact😁
Fantastic!
Exelente trabajo!
please record more videos how this machine cuts, results and all other informations, great video - would be great to see more
Just uploaded a new video with some example cuts ;)
This is amazing
Geat work! Please make a regular video series about the this edm machine
Another revolution in the open source world
Thanks! I will try to make more videos... but no promises. I have had some recent life changes that has made this project get put on the shelf for now. Plus with Rack Robotics kicking butt and releasing new PSUs, and models for wire transport systems, I feel there is little I could add.
bro your very good. nice change of pinions moving with that rubber band :) please consider making a ram edm one also
Bravo..........hats off.........u make it look simple..........now a anolog system.....cheers
Analog system? By what do you mean?
@@DesktopWEDM hey no computor.....dial control......primitive hand crank........May bee fishing reel ...........on motor......drag setting......cheers
@@mattharvey8712 I can't tell if you are joking or serious. lol
@@DesktopWEDM I'm both worlds.......I build a door bell edm......for burning holes......analogy ......i didn't create the idea.... UA-cam ...big question is what do u make.......cheers
This look very interesting
that is just superb, thanks so much for sharing the grbl and powercore mods, one question what size wire are your running?
Very cool
Hi! Great project. I really like how you got great results with a device that was obviously hastily assembled.
I'm also an EDM fan, and currently I'm developing my own spark generator based on a better topology than the one you use. Basically, in my topology there is no huge current limiting resistor that produces a lot of heat, and there is an inductor instead, in which the desired current level is maintained (meaning you can also control the pulse current level). This inductor is both an energy source for sparks and a high voltage generator for breaking through the working medium. Also, due to the absence of a current limiting resistor, the efficiency of this topology is much higher. The designing phase is actually almost done, I'm going to start making the first prototype soon. *Looks like you have decent skills in electronics, so if you're interested in my spark generator project or willing to participate, let me know.* Also, in case of success I'm going to open source it
I don't see a video on it.. so is this just a "mine is bigger than yours" argument? :D
@@Moronicsmurf well, congrats, you understood my comment in a perfectly incorrect way :) I think it's because you missed the last part: "looks like you have decent skills in electronics, so if you're interested in my spark generator project or *willing to participate* , let me know"
As for why there is no video, it's just that I have nothing to show yet. At the moment, the project exists in the form of a bunch of SPICE simulations, circuits and PCB designs. In case of success, I'm going to make a video and open source the project
Yes using an series inductor is a good design. In fact i think that's how BaxEDM's works more or less. I am just merely trying to use the Powercore as it is in its first gen state and show how with simple mods it can be used for WEDM.
Cool
Amazing! It cuts 1/4” aluminum 😮 I can tell u are also a ShieldTV owner likes me 😜
Yep, in fact I just got some 3/8in aluminum and cut that at 8mm/min. I have tried cutting thicker stuff it's possible just so crazy slow. My flushing pump isn't very strong, that's probably the biggest limiting factor.
Yep, in fact I just got some 3/8in aluminum and cut that at 8mm/min. I have tried cutting thicker stuff it's possible just so crazy slow. My flushing pump isn't very strong, that's probably the biggest limiting factor.
Interesting concept and nice controls. I'm interested in the modification you did to the grbl code, do you have that available anywhere?
I posted my grbl edit here: github.com/TheDigital1/grbl-Mega-edm
Yezzzir
Looks great! Kickstarter when?
Haha from me... probably never. I have no interest in productizing it. Others are working on that.
Interesting wire tension setup. I'm trying something where I have motor on the feed spool and on the waste spool and a pulley between the two. The pulley is constrained to a rail and always has a constant amount of force. Either by using a constant force spring with a rack an pinion, or just by attaching a weight to it. Then a potentiameter measures the position of the pulley along the rail. If the pully rises I decrease the speed of the waste spool to provide slack. If the pulley lowers I increase the speed to take up slack. This lets me get constant feed and constant tension and lets me detect if the wire snaps because the pulley will bottom out on the potentiometer.
Interesting! So what provides the adjustable tension control? The speed of the feed spool motor? Just a heads up, in case you haven't already considered it... You want your tension to be pretty darn consistent, so if your feed motor is a stepper motor make sure you are using lots of interpolation to make it as smooth as possible.
This is epic. Are you going to release the software at some point?
Software is on github. Check the description for the link.
That’s awesome work! Using a 3018 cnc as your base, with a large water tank, what’s the effective cut area?
In my current config my effective cut area is about 120x200x12mm I am going to make some changes to get that Z up to about 75
@@DesktopWEDM Will you have enough wire tension for that? I think we're going to limit ours to around 30mm
@@ZURAD I could dial tension up so high I'll snap the wire. Tension is not the problem. Problem I am facing right now is cutting speed. If i start trying to cut really thick things the slower cutting speed is more apparent and is that much more painful. I am working on optimizing power to increase cutting speed. Online documentation talks about longer on times can help increase MRR, however i am limited to about 20us of ontime before the caps are depleted. Going to see if what happens if i increase capacitance. But agreed 30mm is probably a good limit for a desktop machine.
If you could charge the caps faster you'd be able to do more full power pulses per second. I think dropping the resistor is going to be important going forward. @@TheTerminator414
@@ZURAD This may be true if I had thicker wire or was using the brass rods the kit comes with. However for the .2mm wire I am using, at higher frequency it does increase MRR however it also increases wire temperature and thus you start breaking wires. I want to explore more capacitance, more on time, and lower frequency. I'm hoping I can find a sweet spot of high MRR but low chance of wire breakage. But yes for more capacitance a lower resistance power resistor will also help as my charge times will go up without it.
I feel like you could have gotten around the wire tension by using a single pulling motor and a mass on a flexible tube that will sag or rise as the tension changes. Alternatively put a constant drag mechanism on the spool with a rotary damper. If you have a high enough torque motor, a constant speed roller system should pull quite well.
Yeah I thought about solutions like that. My concern was all those solutions would suffer from some inertia. Which would correlate to a momentary change in tension. I wanted to be absolutely sure change in tension was not a problem... so I over engineered the fix. Agreed, a simpler solution would probably work just as well.
Are you planning on a BOM and/or schematics? I'd love to attempt to try and make one. Awesome work!
I am still working on schematics. When it's ready I'll post here: github.com/TheDigital1/powercore_plus
Not sure yet If I'll make a full BOM. I think Rack Robotics will one day release a WEDM setup, and I'm sure that will be better than my janky setup. I'm mostly just showing what's possible.
@@DesktopWEDM thanks for the reply, I'll be looking forward to it. I hadn't known about that powercore v1 until they were sold out and I was bummed. I'd love to be able to build one of my own if I can't buy one. I probably already have everything I need to build one too.
Have the Power Core guys seen this? They may want to include these changes to the upcoming V2 design.
Yeah they are following along with my progress quite closely.
@@DesktopWEDM that's awesome! For everyone :)
I have been waiting for the restock of the rack robotics power core but it didn’t happen at the advertised date. Was yours a kickstarter purchase? Do you know what’s going on with them?
Yeah I got one of the kickstarter units. I believe they are working on a new design right now. Hopefully it will be available soon.
I would love to use thos to cut out knife profiles for my side hustle. Will there be any parts available or schematics on how to build it?
Cutting knife profiles! Cool idea! I have code up on github. However I am not doing the best job of documenting how to build a machine like this. I know there are others working to build a commercial product, hopefully they will be available one day soon.
THis is a nice setup here. You relly need a good short video about RESULTS - show us what you achieved . Detailes-wise. it all wraps to the product - so show us those parts your machine is pumping out... Regards from far Ukraine
Thanks for the interest! Yes, I want to make that video. I am still working on some minor machine improvements and a better workpiece holder. Then I will post another update, this time with more example cuts.
I’d call those ‘pinch rollers’ resemble the same part as a magnetic tape mechanism
Haha yeah i got the rollers at a surplus store. I suspect they are from paper printers.
Any docs (BOM, etc) that we could follow ourselves? Are you thinking of open sourcing the C rewrite of the Pico code?
Hi, I am still working on docs. However all my code is posted here: github.com/TheDigital1/powercore_plus
@@DesktopWEDM awesome!
What about the arduino code? Or is that just some "easily Google-able" stuff with a cnc shield?
Also what are the two boards / ic's you put into the Powercore?
Hi i bulding also a machine but at this moment i am still working on the mechanical design. I try to planning multiple possibilitys. Later in the process i can show some pictures ore drawings. About the pcb you adapt some modifications, are you going to change the pcb design ?
Thank for the info
Awesome! I wish you the best of luck with your machine! I currently have no plans to make a new PCB for the PSU. I believe the Rack Robotics company will release an updated supply in the future that will be better suited for WEDM.
nice machine never thought they were available in desktop size. is the wire reusable
Thanks! No the wire isn't really reusable, at least the type of wire I am using. It gets very eroded and fragile after just one time through a cut.
EPIC work! Wondering if any custom PCBs or CNC parts may help for any upcoming projects? Would be fun to do something together! (PCBWay zoey)
damn bro that's really cool. would you consider making and selling these?
Nah I have no interest in selling it. This is really just meant to show what is possible. I know many other groups / companies are working on a desktop WEDM solution right now. Hopefully in the not too distant future there will be something commercially available.
I see you are out of stock. Could I use a EDM drill to do this? Would I need a pulse EMD Drill unit for wire cutting?
I suspect you mean Rack Robotics is out of stock. That is not me. I am not affiliated with them. This is a bit different than an EDM drill, however the same power supply so long as it is adjustable enough could be used for both.
Is there a reason that you did choose to go with legacy grbl instead of grblHAL?
When I wrote my grbl changes it was three years ago. Not sure if grblHAL existed back then, or at least I didn't know about it.
Hello, can you tell me what kind of rollers you used that are in the water?
on bearings?
Search Amazon / web for "Driak 10pc V624ZZ Bearing Steel Sealed Ball Bearings V Groove Ball Bearing Pulley 4x13x6mm/0.15"x 0.51”x 0.23"" These work ok, but not idea for a high use machine as the steel does start to corrode a bit.
What is the name of the addon used to make the python ui please ?
Its just python and tkinter. you can see the code here: github.com/TheDigital1/powercore_plus/tree/main/GUI
Where did you buy the wire spool?
Ebay
are you plannig to make this commercial?
No. I am just showing what's possible. I hope one day Rack Robotics will come out with a WEDM kit.
Why did you remove most of the capapcitors?
I was having issues with wire breaking. As i am only using .2mm brass. I experimented with more and less of the MLCC on the board. Basically more capacitance leads to longer on time in this case. As on time isn't completely controlled by the on time of the FET. For example if i do a 30us ontime of the FET but the caps are depleted in only 10us, then really the on time was more like 10us. Then in order to not overheat the FET its best to turn it off when current is low, meaning its beneficial to make sure on most pulses that the caps are depleted before the FET turns off. I found that using only 3 caps, and an FET on time of 30us seemed to work best for the material i was cutting. Obviously this would change depending on wire, and material, as well as other factors.
@@DesktopWEDM yeah it makes sense! Another stupid question: why are the capacitor after the fet and not before? And why are you limiting the current with a resistor and not another MOSFET?
Not sure I follow what you are asking. Let me try to explain. The caps are on the anode side they get charged by the PSU through the power resistor. The FET just completes the cathode side to GND. Note this is not my design. Its Rackrobotics, you can see there schematic here github.com/Rack-Robotics/Powercore-V1-Hardware/blob/main/EDM%20Motherboard%20Schematic%20%5B23.04.20%5D.png
@@DesktopWEDM yeah I've seen this video, but I don't understand where the power resistor is connected to the rest of the circuitry
@@DesktopWEDM One last question, were did you find your current sensor? On the paper it looks perfect for this application but i cant find it anywere
hmmm maybe I wont build another 3d printer after I finishing moving
It's awesome to have access to this technology. However, the main downside is the consumable cost (the brass wire).
It will cost around 10$ cdn to cut one linear feet of 1/2" thick Aluminium. And 30$-50$ is it's steel.
Is there a way to reuse the wire many times? How bad the wire get damaged with one pass? (off course, if we avoid crushing it in the final gear).
Only keeping the new wire for final perfect finishing. Maybe two different wire size?
Agreed cost is high at the moment. However if you shop around you can find deals. I got my spool on ebay years ago. Also keep in mind that as desktop EDM becomes more mainstream we will likely see companies offer deals on smaller rolls. Agreed reusing wire is a neat idea, however depending on the type of wire and how aggressive you went with the first cut there may be very little life left in that wire, and the risk to damaging the part, and extra cut time due to needing to re-feed the wire would probably make it not worth it. My understanding is generally for the first pass you are trying to cut as fast as possible and use as little wire as possible. Thus you erode the wire to just a fraction off of snapping point.
@@DesktopWEDM I highly doubt one day EDM will be mainstream enough to change the market cost of wire for DIY. This technique is awesome, but not as versatile as 3D printing and never will.
Again, at least, we can now access to the EDM machine at an affordable cost.
What do you think about my cost estimate per 1 feet cut length of 1/2" material? What is your actual cost?
Thank you for your involvement in this field!